French language in Lebanon

[2]The French language is used on Lebanese pound bank notes,[5] road signs, vehicle registration plates, and on public buildings, alongside Arabic.

[11] The use of Arabic by Lebanon's educated youth is declining, as they usually prefer to speak in French and, to a lesser extent, English.

Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French.

[clarification needed][15] However, the economic opportunities and size of the French-speaking world makes French a must-have in business, sciences and international relations.

In 1997, the Lebanese government committed to a policy of trilingualism in education, including French and English alongside the official Arabic language in the curriculum.